From the 12th, No Vaccine Proof Required for Entry into the US

Starting from the 12th, foreign nationals entering the United States will no longer be required to submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

On the 1st (local time), the White House announced in a statement that "the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for federal employees, federal contractors, and travelers entering via international flights will end on May 11, when the COVID-19 public health emergency concludes."

Additionally, procedures to end the COVID-19 vaccination requirements for workers in the low-income child care program 'Head Start,' healthcare facility workers, and non-citizens at the border will also begin.

In this regard, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that starting from the 12th, foreign travelers entering the U.S. by land or sea will not be required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

The Associated Press interpreted this as the U.S. federal government removing one of the last remaining mandates implemented to promote COVID-19 vaccination, stating, "This reflects the Biden administration's move to treat COVID-19 as an endemic disease."

The U.S. government had eliminated the requirement to present a negative COVID-19 test when entering the U.S. by air in June of last year, but the COVID-19 vaccination mandate had remained in place.

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, in the statement, the White House evaluated that since 2021, approximately 280 million Americans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine nationwide, resulting in saving millions of lives.

Compared to January 2021, when the number of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. peaked, the current numbers of COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations in the U.S. have decreased by 95% and 91%, respectively, and globally, the death toll is at its lowest since the pandemic began, the White House emphasized.